This article is highly relevant to this thread: http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/violence_geeks.htm http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/violence_geeks.htm

This article is highly relevant to this thread: http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/violence_geeks.htm http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/violence_geeks.htm Premise: "There is a phenomenon out there that I call "Violence Geeks." They are a group of individuals who are fixated on the 'idea' of violence.' At the same time, they are terrified of being victims of actual violence. They are an ugly blend of anger, aggressiveness, self-loathing, fear and paranoia. On the plus side, their fear keeps them in check. On the negative side, they are a case of mens rea addressed "To whom it may concern."" I'm posting this because I used to fall squarely into that category myself. Several years and a few reality checks later, I don't. But if you read that headline and thought "wow, I must read that" then I'd also have a serious read of the Violence Geeks article and try to work out whether it applies, even in part, to you. In addition, look at the following causes of death in the USA: http://www.the-eggman.com/writings/death_stats.html http://www.the-eggman.com/writings/death_stats.html (note that AFAICT deaths due to firearms includes negligent discharges & suicides.) You'll note that that table doesn't include 'violence done by strangers.' If you enjoy martial arts, shooting, etc. in and of themselves, then go right ahead and train. Otherwise, you are probably acting irrationally by investing a lot of time and money in training.